No Need Tonight? What Do You Want To Do? (Seeking Recommendation Tickets!)

Nora stared blankly at Ron, unable to understand why that was his main focus, but she answered truthfully nonetheless: "They are light red. I just dripped some Ink-dye Flower juice into them, so they turned a pale black."

This time, Nora did not lower her voice, and the crisp, pleasant sound reached Ron's ears, making him subconsciously take half a step back.

"You're a girl!?" Ron was surprised and astonished, feeling as if he had suddenly become the protagonist of a manga.

"Yeah." Nora also retreated half a step, looking at Ron with vigilance. She tightened her tattered robe and said with self-deprecation, "I'm a Cat-kin. An Orc... wouldn't it be embarrassing for you to have me as your shop assistant?"

The status of Orcs in the empire is very low, basically on par with slaves.

Orcs typically have human-like bodies with animal heads, while half-orcs, though closer to humans in appearance, still retain beastly traits due to their bloodline.

For instance, cat ears or a cat tail.

Or, for example, red eyes.

Because Ron only had one-quarter Fox-kin blood, and perhaps because the Andre bloodline was more dominant, he didn't have fox ears or a fox tail, aside from his slightly reddish eyes.

Furthermore, the status of female half-orcs is even lower than that of males, as they are often treated as playthings by the upper-class nobles of the Human Empire.

Therefore, Nora usually used her tattered robe and linen hat to hide her ears and tail, used Ink-dye Flower juice to mask her red eyes, and lowered her voice to mimic a boy's tone.

Because of her status as a half-orc, she didn't even dare to join the wandering gangs, fearing that if her identity were discovered, it would lead to terrible consequences.

As a result, she didn't even have the qualifications to fight for territory and could only come out during the "off-hours" to rummage through trash cans, looking for leftovers that others had already picked over.

Thus, when Ron offered to hire her as an employee, Nora was tempted.

But she had already tasted the bitterness of being taken in and then abandoned countless times.

Many kind-hearted people would see her misery and offer her a meal or a job, but that was only when they were unaware of her half-orc identity.

Once her identity as a half-orc was revealed, these "kind-hearted" people would invariably expose their disgust.

This was the dark side of society, and Nora was used to it.

That was why she dared to tell Ron her identity to his face.

If Ron showed even a hint of disgust, Nora would turn and leave immediately.

If Ron made any aggressive moves, the dagger in her hand would show no mercy.

In Nora's view, Ron's soft, pampered appearance meant he certainly wouldn't be a match for her.

This was the source of her confidence in revealing her identity.

However, Ron just looked at her with an amused and helpless expression, saying: "What does being a half-orc have to do with anything? I'm just looking for a diligent and capable employee."

"Really?" Hearing this, Nora retreated another half-step, looking at Ron with suspicion.

Ron leaned forward, lowered his head, and met Nora's eyes, chuckling: "Look at my eyes, you should be able to tell, right?"

Nora leaned back, her gaze flickering away, but upon hearing Ron's words, she subconsciously looked at his eyes.

Ron's eyes had a black base, but the surface had a faint layer of red, giving them a somewhat bewitching appearance.

"Half-orc? How is that possible..." Nora was stunned. She looked up at the top of Ron's head, then glanced down at his body, but found no special physical traits.

"Stop looking, I don't have any other traits." Ron shook his head with a laugh and explained, "My mother was a Fox-kin, so I have one-quarter orc blood. My eyes are just a bit reddish."

Nora stared at him blankly and stammered, "You have orc blood too..."

"Yeah, my own mother was a half-orc, so I wouldn't exactly discriminate against my own mother, would I?" Ron shrugged. "So I really don't care about this issue. You can rest easy."

Nora remained stunned for a long time, feeling she needed time to digest this information.

Who could have guessed that this elegant and handsome man before her also had orc blood flowing through his veins?

His mother was also a half-orc...

So he definitely wouldn't discriminate against her like those fickle people...

And he was still asking her to apply for the shop assistant position...

Perhaps it was really worth a try...

After an unknown amount of time, Nora stared at Ron, swallowed hard, and asked timidly: "5 silver coins a week?"

"Yes, 5 silver coins a week." Ron nodded.

"Are the working hours in the morning and afternoon?"

"That's right."

"Just watching the shop?"

"To be precise, just helping me sell flowers. If someone comes to buy flowers, you handle the payment, and just help with the cleaning during the day."

"What about at night?"

"Huh? We don't need to be open at night, do we? What do you want to do?"

"I see other shops open at night too."

"My shop isn't hurting for business, so there's no need to open at night. Besides, I don't have the time; I have other things to do in the evenings."

"Is it really that you aren't hurting for business, or is it just because you don't have the time?"

"Well... it's mostly because I'm lazy."

"I can help you. You just keep doing what you're doing, and I can help watch the shop at night."

"What's in it for you? Isn't watching the shop all day tiring enough?"

"If I keep the shop open at night, does that mean the pay will be a bit higher?"

"..." Ron looked down at the girl with shining eyes in front of him and couldn't help but chuckle. "It's not impossible. If you don't mind the extra work, we can stay open at night. How does 10 silver coins a week sound?"

Upon hearing the salary of 10 silver coins a week, Nora's eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded repeatedly. "I have no problem with that!"

"I can provide room and board. You can just eat your three meals a day with me, so you won't have to go digging through this stuff anymore." Ron glanced at the trash can nearby and asked, "Do you have a place to stay? I have two bedrooms in the shop I can rent to you."

"Huh?" Nora had been happy to hear she could get her meals at the shop, but upon hearing the second half of Ron's sentence, she immediately became vigilant. "Stay here? Do you live here at night too?"

"Yeah, why?" Ron asked, puzzled.

"...It's nothing." Nora looked at Ron's expression with some suspicion, but seeing nothing, she shook her head. "I have a place to stay, so there's no need to trouble you."

Although she already believed that Ron truly intended to hire an employee, they had only just met, and moving directly into someone else's home would be too reckless.

She still needed time to observe Ron and ensure that he truly had no malicious intent toward her.

Having been a wanderer since she was small, Nora had more than enough vigilance in this regard.

Her past experiences had taught her one principle: one must be careful in all things, for caution never leads to major mistakes.

If she hadn't been careful enough, she likely would have been tricked by human traffickers long ago.

Ron didn't think too much about it and nodded. "Then it's settled. Come to my shop tomorrow morning, we'll officially sign an employment contract, and then you can start your shift. How about that?"

Nora nodded vigorously.

Me: Let's sign a reading contract. Every time you read this book, you must cast your recommendation votes. ------ The readers nod vigorously.